19-04-2024 01:42 PM Jerusalem Timing

Turkey Army Enters Syria, Evacuates Remains of Suleyman Shah, Guards

Turkey Army Enters Syria, Evacuates Remains of Suleyman Shah, Guards

Turkish army carried out a military operation inside the Syrian territories overnight, and repatriated troops guarding the tomb of Suleyman Shah, as well as the remains of the Shah himself, without getting engaged in any battle.

Turkey's armyTurkish army carried out a military operation inside the Syrian territories overnight, and repatriated troops guarding the tomb of Suleyman Shah, as well as the remains of the Shah himself, without getting engaged in any battle.

572 Turkish soldiers using 39 tanks, 57 armored vehicles and 100 other military vehicle, crossed the border deep inside Syria in a successful operation to repatriate troops guarding the Turkish enclave surrounded by militants of the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) takfiri group, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Sunday.

The Turkish guards, reportedly numbering around 40, were protecting the mausoleum complex of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the Ottoman empire's founder, Osman I, which under a 1920s treaty is considered sovereign Turkish territory.

Davutoglu said that the remains of Suleyman Shah, who is said to have died in 1236, would be reburied in Turkey at a religious ceremony in the next hours, adding that within days Turkey planned to bury the remains once again inside Syria in the area of Eshme, which Turkey took over in the operation.

The tomb had for years been guarded largely by conscripts but in March 2014 Turkey reportedly sent a special mission of several dozen special forces to guard it.

Turkish television channels broadcast images of Turkish troops planting the Turkish flag overnight at the site. There were no further details on the size of the new pocket of territory under the Turks' control.

The United States and Turkey on Thursday signed a deal to train and equip thousands of new Jihadists operating against the Syrian army, following blows on ISIL and other takfiri groups.